Tuesday, April 3, 2007

The Old Bridge (NJ) proudly announces that the "Senior Spaces," project will officially open on Friday, June 8th.

To inaugurate the space, the Old Bridge (NJ Public Library and the NJ INFOLINK Regional Library Cooperative, will be holding a library conference on the project. The keynote speaker for the event will be none other than Dr. Betty Turock, Professor Emeritus, School of Library & Information Studies, Rutgers University. Allan M. Kleiman, Project Director and designer of 'senior spaces," will speak about the concept, design and future of the space. A formal ribbon cutting and tour of the space will take place at the end of the morning session.

INFOLINK announces a 2007 calendar year contract award to the Old Bridge Public Library for a model incubator project called “Senior Spaces.” This unique project focuses on a major diversity issue impacting libraries -- in this instance the target audience is older adults. The budget for the project is $20,000 – $10,000 of which is a contract from INFOLINK.

Allan M. Kleiman, Assistant Library Director of the Old Bridge PL, shares, “What is different about this project is that we will be developing programs and services for ALL three generations of older adults—the baby boomers not yet retired, older adults who have retired in the last few years, and the elderly many who can no longer get to the library. We literary are building this space and the program from the bottom-up.”

What can INFOLINK members expect from this demonstration model?# Web based documentation of the project.# A workbook/manual to encourage other libraries to develop their own “Your Space,” step-by-step.# Collaboration by the INFOLINK administrative staff and the Diversity Committee.# An invitation to a phase one launch the morning of June 8, 2007 at the Old Bridge Public Library and more informally thereafter.# Presentations at targeted programs and conferences.# An outcomes-based evaluation at year’s end.

We are enthusiastic about this new project and support Old Bridge Public Library Director Margie Cyr, Project Manager Allan Kleiman and this member library’s efforts to redefine library services to older adults. Here are some background stats from Allan in the project overview. These figures impact INFOLINK libraries in varying ways.

In 2000 there were 1,443, 800 New Jerseyans aged 60 and over. By 2025, it is projected that the population will number over 2.5 million in this age group. While the national average is 13.5%, New Jersey already has over 17.2% of the population over 60.

More than half (58%) of the New Jersey population 60 years of age and older in 2003 resided in seven counties: Bergen, Ocean, Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth, Hudson and Union. Four of these counties comprise the INFOLINK Regional Library Cooperative: Essex, Hudson, Union and Middlesex.

About 60% of New Jersey’s minority population 60 years of age and older in 2003 resided in four counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union and in addition, Middlesex had the largest percentage (8.5%) of Asian and Pacific Islanders over the age of 60.